Index correction in a calm market, corporate and international news

• US stock indices fell by 1% without news. They fell quite evenly on a broad front except for NVDA, LLY, PFE and oil companies. But today the fall will probably catch up with oil, since yesterday oil prices rose by 2%, and today they are falling by 1%.
Perhaps investors are starting to prepare for an anxious reporting season.
The VIX is growing steadily, which is traditional before the approach of the US presidential elections.
Weak Bitcoin, suffering from a strong dollar and a weak Nasdaq.
Hong Kong stocks are falling by 8%.

• If Donald Trump wins the election, the post of head of the SEC could be taken by Dan Gallagher, Robinhood's chief legal officer - Politico.

• Oil options see most bullish sentiment in 2 years, with bears wiped out by Chinese stimulus and news of escalating Middle East conflict - Bloomberg

• Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, beat revenue expectations in its 3Q report,
thanks to strong demand for AI servers.

• The Bank of Japan (BOJ) signals the possibility of further interest rate hikes after upgrading its estimates for two regional economies.

• Hedge funds bought the yen just before its biggest drop in 15 years. Upbeat comments from Japan's new prime minister and a strong U.S. jobs report helped trigger the Japanese currency's worst week since late 2009.

• The US share of venture capital in European defence startups has tripled in a year. US investors will account for more than 65% of venture capital investment in defence technologies in Europe in 2024, up from 18% in 2023 amid global conflicts.
US venture capital firms have provided $458 million to European defence startups this year, more than three times the amount ever invested.

• Chinese e-commerce companies such as Pinduoduo are aggressively cutting prices, adding to China's deflation.
About 60% of Chinese consumers use e-commerce services, according to HSBC.

• Google is testing a new feature - "blue checkmarks" of verification in search results - The Verge. These icons will indicate that the information on sites has been verified and will help users avoid fake or fraudulent links.

• Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for Chinese stocks to "overweight". Analysts see potential for stocks to grow by another 15-20% if the government's planned measures are implemented. On the other hand, skepticism about Chinese stocks is growing louder - Bloomberg. The record growth of Chinese stocks has not convinced all global fund managers and strategists.

• Equinor ASA has acquired a $2.5 billion stake in Danish wind energy company Orsted A/S,
in one of the most significant boosts to the offshore wind industry in recent years.

• MatrixPort report predicts that global cryptocurrency adoption will reach 8% by 2025.

• Jefferies downgraded Apple shares, saying “serious” AI-powered smartphones are two years away.
The investment firm expressed concern over inflated expectations for the iPhone 16 and 17.

• Spreads on US investment-grade corporate bonds have narrowed to their lowest in three years,
a clear sign of how bullish credit investors are even as macroeconomic and geopolitical risks rise.

• Bloomberg on earnings season:
- The S&P 500 rally will be tested by a tough earnings season.
- Military action, the Fed, the U.S. election could all dampen corporate results.
- S&P 500 companies to report quarterly profit growth of 4.7% from a year earlier (7.9% expected in July). That's the weakest gain in four quarters.

• Lucid Group Inc.'s electric vehicle production fell in the third quarter and missed analysts' forecasts, even as deliveries beat expectations.

• Amazon shares down 3% as Wells Fargo warns cloud 'not enough'

• Analysts expressed concern about margin trends next year, which are unlikely to be offset by growth in the cloud computing business.

• Chevron to sell Canadian oil sands and shale assets for $6.5 billion - Bloomberg. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

• Italy may toughen digital services tax in 2025 budget, sources say Italy is considering ways to boost revenue from a digital services tax in its 2025 budget, although the government is concerned about a response from the United States, where most of the tech giants hit by the tax are based.

• Mobileye (MBLY) shares are down 70% year-to-date. JP Morgan says the slide isn't over yet with a $10 target (yesterday: $12). MBLY shares fell another 5% yesterday on the news.

• PFE shares rose 2% yesterday after the WSJ reported that activist investor Starboard Value had acquired a $1 billion stake in the drug company.

• SMCI shares jumped 16%. The server company said it recently deployed more than 100,000 liquid-cooled GPUs for some of the largest AI factories ever built. Barron's estimates that that represents several billion dollars in orders.

• GNRC shares rose 8.5% as the generator maker benefited from Hurricane Milton strengthening to a Category 5 storm and set to hit Florida this week.

• The Fed's Musalem expects a gradual reduction in interest rates. And he sees a soft landing for the U.S. economy, including thanks to easing monetary policy and rising labor productivity. Musalem will become a voting member of the FOMC in 2025.

• Russia sends ships to Moldova against the backdrop of the referendum on joining the EU. With an unknown cargo to the ports of Moldova, which could be preparation for disrupting the referendum. The Russians came up with the idea of ​​making direct flights from Novorossiysk and Tuapse to the Moldovan port of Giurgiulesti.

• President Joe Biden's administration has offered Israel a "compensatory" aid package of military aid and diplomatic support to keep it from attacking Iranian nuclear facilities. Democrats in the White House want low gas prices.

• Reporters said Trump, 78, boasted during an interview about the support of the audience at the debate with Harris, forgetting that the event was held in an empty hall. They said he increasingly appears confused, forgetful, incoherent or out of touch.

• Exit polls: Kazakhstan supports construction of first nuclear power plant. Citizens of Kazakhstan voted in a referendum for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the country and in all of Central Asia.

• Britain has taken first place in Europe for the number of illegal immigrants, The Daily Telegraph reports. According to the publication's research, there are currently almost 745 thousand illegal immigrants in the country, which is almost twice as many as in France, where 300 thousand live. Germany is in second place, with 700 thousand illegal immigrants.

• Donald Trump's economic plans could lead to a federal debt nearly twice as large as it would have been under Harris, according to a new analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

• China is likely to launch military exercises around Taiwan after Taiwanese leader Lai Qingde's speech on October 10. According to Taiwanese sources, the exercises will take place regardless of the content of the speech.

• Saudi Arabia signs $1.9 billion contract to build tower in Jeddah, which will be the tallest building in the world with a height of 1,000 meters.

• Taylor Swift has become the richest singer in the world. She managed to achieve this solely thanks to her music career.
Now the top 5 richest singers in the world look like this:
1. Taylor Swift ($1.6 billion).
2. Rihanna ($1.4 billion).
3. Selena Gomez ($1.3 billion).
4. Madonna ($850 million).
5. Beyoncé ($760 million).